There are three types of register hands used on the Universal Geneve 885103/02 “Nina Rindt”. All are painted white.
Thin hands
These hands, notably for Ninas, lack lume.
They are original to the earliest applied logo dials, with serials up to 2.41m. These “thin” hands extend all the way to the end of the register marks. We see these hands paired with applied logo SWISS T dials and silver main hands.
Midsize hands
The revolution begins! Lume in the register hands! I refer to this style as “midsize” hands, where the diameter of the hand around the post is wider than the remainder of the hand. Some call this “tapered”, but the width of the hand as it extends from the post is the same all the way to the tip. The lume is less than 1/3 of the length of the hand, and about 1/3 as wide, rectangular in shape. These hands extend nearly all the way to the end of the marks, though some images seem to indicate they don’t quite cover the entire mark. We see these hands in 2.45m serials, and can be found with applied logo SWISS T dials and silver main hands. For these midsize and the later thick register hands, Universal Geneve notes that pieces should all have “85” on the bridge [1].
Thick hands
Ninas, and other Universal Geneve pieces, are often known best for this “thick” hand, where the width of the hand is the same surrounding the post all the way to the tip (so the shape is a rectangle), and has lume as well. The lume is 1/3 of the length of the hand, and about 1/3 as wide, and again, rectangular in hand shape. These “thick” hands extend nearly all the way to the end of the marks, though some images seem to indicate they don’t quite cover the entire mark. We see the thick register hands in 2.5m serials. We see these hands paired with printed logo SWISS T 25 dials and black main hands.
These should all have “85” engraving on the movement [1].
These thick hands are very difficult to source. The last set seen was in 2019 on eBay, at $1,090 for all three. Ouch.
Universal Geneve does not provide date information on the shift between different hand styles, so we are left to make estimates based upon known Extract and original owner information [1].
[1] Universal Geneve, email April 17, 2020